Epidemic Game at UMass Amherst!
Time: April 30 7 AM - May 6 7 PM
Join Code: x0umass
Use the code to join this activity through our mobile app. Please download the latest version of the app for iOS or Android using the QR codes at the bottom of this page.
​
It’s time to build community in your residential hall, learn about infectious diseases, and win prizes. Join the Colubri Lab at UMass Chan Medical School to understand how to better stop outbreaks.
.png)
About the epidemic game at UMass Amherst
The epidemic game at UMass Amherst will use proximity sensing in a gamified mobile app to understand how infectious diseases spread through networks of people. In this game, we will use an outbreak control intervention called "Digital Contact Tracing."
All user data is anonymized
This app does not collect any identifiable information. The bluetooth data are anonymized and not used for any commercial purposes.
Your mission: Stay healthy and collect points!
The rules to play the epidemic game are simple:
-
First, keep the app running with Bluetooth on (don't worry, it will not drain your battery).
-
Every day, you will have to decide to quarantine or not. You will get points depending on your decision.
-
You may also receive an exposure notification from the digital contact tracing module in the app, letting you know that you may have been in contact with a positive case the day before.
-
Use all the information available to you carefully to make your decisions, collect points, and stay healthy.
-
You will enter a point-based lottery after the game ends, with a chance to win a gift card!
The app will simulate the anonymous spread of a virtual pathogen via Bluetooth among the phones of participants, and will also use contact tracing to alert participants of their risk of exposure.
Play the sequencing challenge and unlock a secret item!
You will have a chance to collaborate with other player to assemble the pathogens' genome. This challenge works like this:
-
If you get sick, you will see a "sequencing" item in the app's shop (does not cost any points).
-
If you pick this item, a "digital sample" of the pathogen will be analyzed and you will receive a fragment of the pathogen's genome.
-
You can save this fragment to any of your personal cloud storage (Google Drive, iCloud) or share it in a message (text, WhatsApp, etc.) with other players for analysis.
- Read the instructions below on how to use these fragments to find an answer and unlock a secret item that will help you stop the transmission!
How do I assemble a genome sequence from fragments?
Let's say the sequence John, Emma and Liam need to solve is
"ATGCGTACGA"
John's Fragment
Emma's Fragment
Liam's Fragment
Each person holds part of the sequence. By finding overlaps, they can piece together the original DNA sequence.
There you have it! That's how you solve a sequence using overlapping fragments
But this was just a simple example. Your real challenge will be assembling a sequence that’s a few hundred bases long. Get ready for a more complex puzzle!
Think you've cracked the code?
Submit your guess at sequencing.operationoutbreak.org and get a secret protective item for a correct guess.
Good luck!
Download
Ready to play?
Download and install the mobile app
